Migration Stories of Filipino Teachers: A Content-based Analysis Through the Lens of Push and Pull Theory

Abstract

This study examines the migration experiences of Filipino educators across four continents, Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia, utilizing a content-based analysis and contextualized within Lee’s Push and Pull Theory of Migration. The researchers studied 177 minutes of video narratives to discern the primary motives, challenges, and effects of migration on the personal and professional lives of these educators. Research indicated that inadequate earnings, restricted career progression, substandard working conditions, emotional distress, and minimal societal esteem serve as push factors, driving educators to pursue possibilities elsewhere. Conversely, attractive variables such as high salaries, opportunities for professional advancement, enhanced teaching conditions, and cultural respect for the teaching profession substantially impact their decision to relocate. The study emphasizes the emotional and cultural adaptations teachers experience, highlighting the dual aspects of migration as both professionally enriching and personally demanding. The study advocates for reforms in Philippine education policy, leadership methods, and support networks for migrant teachers to tackle the structural causes of outmigration and the emotional needs of foreign educators. The study ultimately enhances the broader discourse on teacher mobility and the necessity for systemic reforms in the Philippine education sector.